An Astoria landlord has been charged swindling tenants of tens of thousands of dollars through a bogus rent scam, the Queens DA said.
Mario Lalicata, 54, posted ads online on Craigslist luring would-be tenants and then allegedly pocketed $17,000 in security deposits and first month’s rents from 21 prospective tenants, the DA’s office said. He is being charged with 10 counts of grand larceny, two counts of fraud and 10 counts of petit larceny, according to the borough’s top prosecutor.
“This case sadly represents another instance in which an allegedly greedy landlord is accused of taking advantage of Queens County’s tight housing market to rob unsuspecting individuals of substantial amounts of their hard-earned savings through an online rental scheme,” said District Attorney Richard Brown in a statement.
Lalicata, who lives at 25-55 48th St. in Astoria and is also known as Mario Lamagra, advertised a room for rent at his residence, the DA’s office said. When interested renters got in touch with him, he then allegedly took deposits ranging from $500 to $2,000 from the unsuspecting tenants between March 23 and Aug. 13, Brown said. In two instances, he also allegedly collected the first month’s rent, the DA said.
As the tenants’ move-in dates approached, Lilicata postponed the moves by making various excuses, and in one instance, he returned $200 of a $600 security deposit, according to the DA’s office. In another, Lalicata’s purported wife allegedly returned $100 of $2,000 handed over by a prospective tenant, Brown said.
When the tenants grew tired of Lalicata’s excuses and demanded their money back, the defendant apparently promised to return the funds, and then eventually stopping returning calls, the DA said.
Donna Lewis, the attorney for Lalicata, said she was, “Not commenting on the case” when reached by phone.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, “I commend the NYPD investigators and their counterparts in the Queens district attorney’s squad for thoroughly examining this case and ending the exploitation of trusting individuals who endeavored to live in New York City.”
Lalicata was arraigned Aug. 13 and ordered held on $10,000 bail, according to the DA’s office. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison, and his next court date is set for Aug. 27.
Anyone who believes he or she may have been a victim of a rental scam is asked to contact the DA’s Economics Crimes Bureau at 718-286-6673.
